Tigers, Den Find Hopeful Normalcy
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
WARSAW – Warsaw has been waiting for a spark to ignite its season. It may have gotten it from a missed slam dunk.
A sequence of good fortunes for Warsaw following a missed NorthWood dunk helped the Tigers pull away for a 47-42 win at an even more bizarre setting at the Tiger Den Friday night.
It looked like the game would remain airtight into the second half as Cade Brenner was recovering a steal at midcourt. His dunk attempt was going to make it a one-point game in the fourth quarter and keep what was a one or two possession game through about 25 minutes in similar fashion.
But as Brenner went up, he looked to change his mind just slightly whether to hammer down the dunk or lay the ball in. The hesitancy had the ball bang off the back iron, and in the moment, Brenner caught the ball while hanging on the rim. Immediately, Brenner was whistled for a technical foul, sending Warsaw’s Jaxon Gould to the other end for the free throws. After Gould made his two freebies, Warsaw got the ball and Jackson Dawson followed up with an and-one, taking what was a near deadlock into an eight-point Warsaw lead.
NorthWood wouldn’t challenge for the lead the remainder of the night.
“Give Warsaw credit, I thought their interior defense was very good,” said NorthWood head coach Aaron Wolfe. “Obviously we wanted to finish a few more plays in the basket area. I think there were some free throws where we could have knocked in both that would have helped down the stretch.
“I think you’ll see in a low possession game, there’s just so many things that could have gone either way.”
Added Warsaw head coach Matt Moore of the sequence, “Any time you can get it to two possessions, that’s a plus. I like odd numbers, so if we can get it to five, seven, nine, I like that for some reason. Then we can get some spacing on the court, make some free throws, maybe break them for a layup or two. That really was the best we’ve done in dealing with pressure in that regard.”
Warsaw did well to control what it could, and part of that was to not let NorthWood’s shooters get into rhythm. While Brenner would find his scoring touch to finish with 18 points, several others of NorthWood’s usual wrecking crew were held abnormally silent. Ben Vincent didn’t score until the fourth quarter, and while Vincent had seven points, the sharpshooter was just 1-3 from three-point range. Ian Raasch was held without a point on the night and committed six turnovers. Typically the X-factor for the Panthers this season, he and Jamarr Jackson were limited to just 2-7 field goals on the night, Jackson held to just seven points.
“I think (Warsaw) did a good job defending and I think, in the basket area, was the most noticeable. I thought they contested without fouling very well,” said Wolfe.
Warsaw (9-7) again had the duo of Gould and Judah Simfukwe atop the scoring column, Simfukwe leading with 14 points and Gould with 12 points and four rebounds. Dawson was a key for the Tigers with nine points, but also had eight rebounds, six assists and a pair of blocks on the night.
The win puts Warsaw at 4-1 in the Northern Lakes Conference and still within shot at the title. Mishawaka beat Goshen Friday night and is 4-0 in the NLC, the two set to clash Thursday in a showdown for first place. The loss was crushing for NorthWood (9-4), as it falls to 3-2 in the conference race but down to fifth place, looking up at both Warsaw and Northridge to whom both own wins over the Panthers. Concord is also in the mix at 3-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw hopes the win, its first two-game streak since mid-December, can springboard it to a bigger run.
“It’s not about winning three in a row, it’s about winning one three times,” said Moore. “Momentum is a funny thing. If you can get a couple wins together, and you start believing in what you are doing, sometimes those shots start going in. We honestly are about six possessions from being 12-4 this season, and that looks and feels differently than 9-7. It certainly plays better to say 12-4, but we are finding out mentally we can be there.”
Warsaw won the JV contest 48-39. Tyler Kuhn came alive with 23 points for the Tigers while Ni’Tareon Tuggle led the Panthers with 10 points, five assists and four steals.
A Sight Unseen
Earlier in the week, Warsaw had announced it would lighten restrictions on spectator attendance per the approval of the Kosciusko County Health Department. At 25 percent capacity in a 4,700-seat Tiger Den, that would open up the opportunity for quite an atmosphere.
It was almost the perfect storm for the night, with TV-46 on hand for its Game of the Week, along with a NorthWood crowd – particularly its rambunctious student section – that hasn’t been permitted to attend any game, boys or girls, this season.
With 25 percent capacity allowing just over a 1,000 eligible to attend, NorthWood students began lining up at 4:45 for tickets. Their section was modest, maybe 50-75 students, but it added to the night. All masked up, as was Warsaw’s neon-clad student section, there was atmosphere unseen in the gym since early 2020.
Warsaw athletics noted there were less than 1,000 tickets sold at tip-off of the varsity game, but the gym was alive and offered a glimpse of what so many have longed for since last season. Kudos to those who attended, as even with the larger than ‘usual’ crowd, most groups were socially distanced, nearly everyone kept their mask on when not eating, and both athletic directors – Matt Binkerd at Warsaw and Norm Sellers of NorthWood – were able to sit and enjoy the game without having to shepherd its students to adhere to policy.